PlayStation details the use of AI to accelerate development cycles and boost creativity

In addition to updating PlayStation 5 sales and recording a new accounting loss due to the deterioration of Bungie, during its latest results presentation Sony has also given voice to Hideaki Nishino, head of Sony Interactive Entertainment, to talk about the implementation of generative AI in this division (which is PlayStation). The executive is committed to the use of this technology, which in his opinion plays an important role in game development.

Nishino sees AI as a tool that will help PlayStation fulfill the mission of being the best place to play and publish games. For gamers it means the promise of better gaming experiences, while publishers will benefit from a more efficient production environment and better discoverability to get their titles to the right audience. «AI is lowering barriers to creation, accelerating development cycles and allowing more creators to enter the market,» says Nishino. «As a result we expect to see a significant increase in the volume and diversity of content.»

The executive assures that the PlayStation platform will play a key role in helping players find the right content in an increasingly saturated market, and is confident that its studios and intellectual properties will continue to make a difference.

At PlayStation Studios they are already using AI-powered tools to automate repetitive workflows, improve productivity and accelerate quality control or 3D modeling. They have even created their own solutions. For example, Mockingbird is a tool that quickly animates 3D facial models based on motion capture. Nishino highlights that «we are not replacing the actors,» but rather optimizing the way they process data. «With Mockingbird, animation work that previously took hours can now be completed in a fraction of a second,» says the executive.

Nishino says that these types of AI-driven tools allow his development teams to spend less time on certain laborious tasks, and instead invest it in creating worlds and gameplay. As an example of new experiences thanks to AI tools, the executive mentions Sophy, the artificial intelligence agent developed jointly by Polyphony Digital and Sony AI that has added a new level of competitiveness to Gran Turismo 7 (PS5). It also says that the developers have created prototypes of NPCs with their own personalities that give life to more vivid and dynamic worlds.

As president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Nishino assures that as AI capabilities evolve «the role of our creators will continue,» and maintains that the vision and design of their games «will always come from the talent of our studios and artists.» «AI is intended to enhance their capabilities, not replace them,» concludes the executive.